is K-1 good the art/sport?

[black-gi]

K-1 is about fire works, freaks, and lotsa people. However alot of the fighters have no clue as to how to punch/kick like a kick/thai boxer should. Do you think the K-1 is hurting the sport of kickboxing and Muay thai? I am hearing more people say "I want to compete in the k-1" not "I want to fight in Thailand and be the best" not that K-1 is bad, but I think it doesn't little to help the people that have had lots of fights, lots of trainning, and yet get little where as in K-1 all you have to be is a genetic freak to be in the big Show.



Jason Bryant

[muaythaifreak]

As a rule, the thais couldn't compete in K-1. They just don't fill the bill so to speak. They are much too small to fight the three and four hundred pounders (give or take) that seem to be gravitating towards K-1. I agree with you that the skill level is not as high in K-1 as it is in Thailand, however, I don't really expect it to be. It's a completely different venue for a completely different type of fan and competitor. Don't get me wrong, there are some extremely talented individuals fighting in K-1 as well as UFC, but I think if the competitors in K-1 were not so ungodly huge, it would be a much different thing.

On the same token, in Thailand, those guys literally live to fight and fight to live. I've trained there many times and I've not been to a gym yet where you didn't have some little six to eight year olds in the corner somewhere sparring one another. And they do it like we in the west go to work. Even more so. If I trained like they do, at six feet 200lbs, I'd be a MT monster. It's not just a sport for them, it's a way of life to the enth degree. And they fight all the time. Sometimes two, three, even four matches per night. By the time they retire at say twenty or so, most have well over 200 to 300 fights under their belt if not more. So the ball is obviously going to be in their court when it comes to skill and experience.

Basically I think you're comparing apples and oranges. Now if you find a 300lbs Thai that has been practicing MT since he was six, I don't know that anyone in K-1 could stand up to him.

(my two baht worth)

[black-gi]

I'm not just saying Muay thai, but kickboxing as well. I feel it hurts the art Muay Thai and the sport of kickboxing. People are starting to see its not the sport/art they love it is the Money. I do not see Muay thai gaining popularity due to things like K-1. Maybe I didn't explain my self properly but I'm not compairing thai's to k-1 freaks or how the art is practised only in Thailand. I'm talking about the whole big picture. I feel k-1 does nothing good for the serious people in the sport of kickboxing or Muay Thai.



Jason Bryant

[Don Davies]

I don't think it's black and white. With k-1, kickboxing is getting a lot of exposer that it never had before. The bad thing is people will think thats the only good version of kickboxing and wouldn't like the more scientific bouts without the freaks. K-1 fighters are making a lot of money.

K-1 fighters are marketed so that the fans can have a emotional investment in them this is what makes them lots of money but also hurts the seriousness of kickboxing.

[muaythaifreak]

Yeah, I agree, it seems to be heading down the same path as professional wrestling without all the surrealism.

[Good advisor]

I do agree with most comments, i'd once try to registerd my way into K-1 but I have to be very good at an art.

[Mart]

What i dont get is why they continue to keep out the wieght cataegories. If they brought in wiehgt categories, it would be wuite quite good and you wouldnt get these freak show novelty fights. To be fair there are some fights that are quite good to watch,. Maybe the weight cats dont need to be as severe, they could be fairly wide but i think that would make things a bit better.
I still dont get how people struggle againt Sapp, hes big but damn it if they keep switched on it shouldnt be that hard.
I guess its hard to know how hard he can punch.

[Shiro_ryuu]

Isn't there a K-1 MAX which is only lightweights? I hear its very popular, especially among Japanese girls. The fighters are actually human fighters and not circus freaks. I don't know why lightweights aren't as popular as heavyweights.